Orthopedic surgeon compares second break in four months to lightning strike

The Chargers running back suffered two broken clavicles in about four months, the first to his right shoulder on Aug. 9 in his first preseason carry and the second Sunday to his left shoulder during a loss to the Panthers. He had surgery Monday and is expected to recover well in time for the start of the team’s voluntary offseason workouts in April.

Dr. Daniel Kharrazi, orthopedic surgeon at Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles, has been a shoulder specialist about 15 years.

This sequence, he said Tuesday, is “very unusual.”

“If you look at shoulder injuries in football, clavicular fractures are generally low-incident injuries,” Kharrazi said. “And this guy’s had two of them in four months. That’s why I think people are alarmed. People realize this is generally a rare injury. …

“If you were to ask me four months ago, ‘Do you think he’s going to break his left clavicle?’ I would have said he’s more likely to be struck by lightning.”

The clavicle, also referred to as the collarbone, is a long S-shaped bone that helps support the scapula and humerus within the shoulder girdle.

It requires the right hit at the right force, Kharrazi said, to break it. For that, Mathews can credit a clean shot from Panthers rookie linebacker Luke Kuechly.

In the second quarter, Mathews slipped out of the backfield on third-and-16 and caught a checkdown pass over the middle. He cut to his left, stiff-armed cornerback Captain Munnerlyn with his right hand, while running toward the Panthers sideline, was tripped up by cornerback James Thomas.

At the exact time Mathews’ left shoulder rolled onto the turf at Jack Murphy Field, the 235-pound Kuechly came crashing onto Mathews’ right shoulder, sending an added amount of pressure onto his left.

Mathews stood up and waved his left hand toward his left shoulder before jogging to the sideline and, eventually, the locker room.

He knew.

Kharrazi, who has not personally examined Mathews, assured there is nothing structurally wrong with Mathews’ shoulders and “freak accidents happen.” He said he expects the bone to heal to full strength.

"I don't think Ryan Mathews, because of the two specific injuries, is injury prone," Kharrazi said. "He's just been unlucky enough to have these in a short span of time ...

“I don’t think he’ll ever break his clavicle again, although I may be wrong. I think this will be the last time you and I talk about Ryan Mathews’ clavicles.”